Pinball Parts
To build a pinball machine, you need parts…
This design is constrained by our overarching goal #4 (that’s Economy to save you looking it up 😂). So rather than starting with a design, and buying parts, it’s more like a regular pinball design where availability of parts and run-outs¹ had a big say in the design.
The cheapest way to get parts is harvesting²from dead (or deadish) machines. We got ours from super-dead machines, those that even Dr. Frankenstein could not bring back.
After harvesting from donor playfields we had the following mechanisms available to us:
| Item | Number | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Ramp with lifting flap | 1 | |
| Single Drop Target Bank | 1 | |
| Double Drop Target Bank | 1 | |
| Triple Drop Target Bank | 1 | |
| Quad Drop Target Bank | 1 | |
| Spinner | 1 | |
| Flippers | 3 | 2 different types |
| Pop bumpers | 5 | 2 different types, 1 missing parts |
| Slingshots | 1 | |
| Top lanes guides | 4 | |
| Top lanes switches | 4 | |
| Saucer / Hole | 1 | |
| Single Target | 2 | Red and green |
| in lane switch | 2 | |
| out lane switch | 2 | |
| Ball magnet | 1 | Looks a bit dodgy |
| Tall up post | 1 | |
| Short up post | 1 | |
| Ball lifter | 1 | |
| Coil and frame | 1 | Parts of unknown mechanism |
| Trough | 2 | 1 good, 1 rusted to bits |
| Drain | 1 | |
| Shooter / Launch mechanism | 1 | Constructed Mechanism |
| Lifter mechanism | 1 | Constructed Mechanism |
| Sarcophagus mechanism | 1 | Constructed Mechanism |
The last 3 constructed mechanisms are special cases. We knew they would be needed so started work on them early.
- Shooter / Launch mechanism - I like timed multiball as a game feature. It’s kind to new players, and I expect to have lots. To make it work nicely, you need to kick drained balls back into play, so I built this.
- Lifter mechanism - We want to lift a largish casting rapidly; this will do the trick.
- Sarcophagus mechanism - Sounds intriguing? Yes it does!
So these are the mechanisms the design will be based on. We won’t use them all, and there will probably be some extras (did somebody say Tomb Bat?).
Like score wheels when SS machines were being introduced - “we got plenty of ’em, just bung another one on”.
Like organ harvesting, but messier.
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